East Peoria distillery ready for business

Looking at the building's exterior is something less than an intoxicating experience. It's an aluminum and concrete block structure with a view of OSF Center for Industrial Rehabilitation and Outpatient Rehabilitation in one direction and the northbound lanes of Interstate 74 in another. ...

EAST PEORIA - Looking at the building's exterior is something less than an intoxicating experience. It's an aluminum and concrete block structure with a view of OSF Center for Industrial Rehabilitation and Outpatient Rehabilitation in one direction and the northbound lanes of Interstate 74 in another.

The property is zoned "limited manufacturing." There's a modest autumnal display at the foot of the wheelchair ramp in front that involves an old dining table chair, a mum, dried cornstalks and some gourds. Painted on the glass front door are the initials "J.K." in black, directly above the name "Williams" in orange. It could be the office of a financial adviser.

Inside, however, the descendents of J.K. Williams aren't making portfolios, they're making whiskey. And after 21/2 years of rigorous and thorough planning, learning, preparation and regulatory pursuit, they are about to open their craft-batch distillery to the whiskey-loving public. J.K. Williams Distilling, L.L.C., launches on Friday.

"We've been dreaming about this for a while," said Jon Williams, company president and one of four managing members and owners of the business, all members of the Williams family. The other three are his wife, Kristin, his brother Jesse Williams, and Jesse's wife Kassi. "We couldn't be more excited to let the public taste this product that we are pretty proud of."

After settling on a small-batch whiskey distillery as a family business option outside of their day jobs, the Williams brothers discovered that making whiskey was a family tradition. They learned that their great-grandfather, J.K. Williams, made moonshine in Illinois during Prohibition. The bottles of corn mash whiskey ready for sale when the business opens this week, J.K.'s Original Corn Whiskey, were made from his original recipe.

"It's a sweet whiskey. You would have no idea that it's unaged," Jon Williams said. "It's very mellow, very smooth, but you know you are drinking alcohol. We're very happy with the quality, in fact it's our policy that if we're not happy it will not come into this room for sale."

"This room" is the front room of the distillery at 526 High Point Lane, off of the Pinecrest Drive exit of I-74. It's dominated by a large, handsome bar that was crafted in its spot by Jesse Williams out of salvaged wood. A photographic time line of whiskey making in central Illinois, including photographs of J.K. and his son, Buck Williams, the Williams brothers' grandfather, runs across the wall opposite the bar. There are J.K. T-shirts and sweatshirts, glasses and coozies for sale - and whiskey.

Their first batch of sellable product is 180 750-milliliter bottles of 100-proof (50 percent alcohol) clear-as-moonshine corn whiskey. They will sell for $30 apiece. Also available will be bottles of fruit-flavored Smitty's Apple Pie for $24; bottles of J.K.'s Peach will be available in the next few weeks and will retail for $28.

Page 2 of 3 - The distillery will continue to bring more of its product to market as it ages and becomes available. The first true bourbon will be for sale sometime in the spring; its more premium single malt version in a couple of years.

"Our process allows us to express-age our whiskey," Williams said. "We can bottle it three to four times faster than the traditional method without sacrificing quality."

They are about to add a second 60-gallon still to the operation and hope to make about 5,000 gallons of whiskey a year at full operation. The whiskey is aged in 30-gallon white oak barrels that come with a charred interior cut into a honeycomb pattern.

"The (honeycomb pattern) gives the whiskey better interaction with the barrel," Williams said.

The barrels are custom made by Black Swan cooperage in Park Rapids, Minn.

"We're like one of four or five distilleries in the country that use that pattern," Williams said.

Rick Swan, the director of the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce, said the business community welcomes J.K. Williams Distilling to the city.

"Residents are constantly wanting something new to come to East Peoria, something different," Swan said. "The distillery certainly fills that bill. The uniqueness of the business makes it very intriguing. We're very pleased that they are now a part of the community."

The business is in fact unique to central Illinois. The website of the American Distillery Institute offers a map of the United States with an electronic red pushpin indicating every certified small batch distillery in the country. Before J.K. Williams, the closest distillery to the north was Plainfield, to the south was St. Louis, to the west was Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and to the east, Indianapolis.

Central Illinois is a wide open market.

The Williams brothers cleared their final regulatory hurdle last summer. They started making whiskey six weeks ago.

"To say we were itching to get started would be an understatement," Jon Williams said. "Now we're itching to get the distillery open to the public."

J.K. Williams Distilling grand opening

J.K. Williams Distilling will host a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. Friday, followed by a public grand opening tour and tasting. Starting on Saturday, the distillery will be open for tours and tastings from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Tours will take place every 30 minutes.

The business — not a bar but a distillery selling bottles of whiskey — is located at 526 High Point Lane in East Peoria, the road that runs parallel to Interstate 74 at the Pinecrest exit.

For more information call 839-0591, or visit jkwilliamsdistilling.com.

Page 3 of 3 -

Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or by email at shilyard@pjstar.com.